BoomerZoo Almanac for August 5-11, 2007: Conspiracies, Take 2
Let’s face it. Boomers are big on conspiracy theories, such as the supposed cover-up of the Roswell UFO matter featured in the BoomerZoo Almanac for the week of June 24. We didn’t invent conspiracy theories, of course—the Roswell incident occurred in 1947, when we hadn’t quite boomed as a group—but we’re really good at inventing new ones, while keeping as many old ones as possible alive. I’m sure our forebears would have been our equals in this matter, but they didn’t have our easy communication benefits: Photocopiers, email, the Internet.
Another conspiracy theory built by Boomers down the road from the event has to do with Marilyn Monroe, who
was found dead in her L.A. apartment apparently of a prescription medication overdose on August 5, 1962. As we grew older and stories about a relationship between President John F. Kennedy and Marilyn began to leak out, the idea of the Kennedys arranging Marilyn’s death in order to keep that relationship secret began to take shape, persisting through the power of those easy communication benefits.
Now, I’m not a big fan of conspiracy theories – after all, I hardly know any one single person who can keep a secret, much less a whole government bureaucracy worth of people. And beside that, I just prefer to maintain my illusion that most people—even most famous people—are generally good.
Goodbye Norma Jean
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your name
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
